Thorns FC's Kuikka, Moultrie, Rodríguez called in during February FIFA window

PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Thorns FC announced today that defender Natalia Kuikka and midfielders Olivia Moultrie and Rocky Rodríguez have been called up by their respective countries for international competition. Finland has three matches in France, Moultrie joins the U.S. U-20 WNT for the 2022 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship, while Rodríguez and Costa Rica begin Concacaf W qualifying matches.

Kuikka and Finland are set to participate in the Tournoi de France from Feb. 16-22 with France, the Netherlands and Brazil. Finland will take on France on Feb. 16 (12:10 p.m. PT) in Le Havre, and then square off against the Netherlands on Feb. 19 (9 a.m. PT) and conclude the tournament against Brazil on Feb. 22 (9:30 a.m. PT).

Moultrie and the U.S. U-20 WNT will travel to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic for their qualifying tournament, which spans from Feb. 25-March 12. The U-20s are in group A with the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Nicaragua. The USA opens group play on Feb. 25 (12 noon PT) against Nicaragua before taking on Puerto Rico on Feb. 27 (12 noon PT) and the Dominican Republic on March 1 (3 p.m. PT) to wrap up group games. The top three finishers in the four groups will advance to the Round of 16 and join the four teams already qualified for the knockout round. From there, the teams will play a single-elimination tournament with the two finalists and third-place game winner qualifying for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.

Rodríguez and Costa Rica begin the first round of Concacaf W qualifiers for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Costa Rica will host Saint Kitts and Nevis on Feb. 17 (5 p.m. PT) and play the U.S. Virgin Islands in a road match on Feb. 20 (4 p.m. PT). In group play, Costa Rica will take on Guatemala, Saint Kitts and Nevis, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Curacao. Each nation will play two matches at home and two matches away, the top finisher in each of the groups will advance to the Concacaf W Championship, joining the top two ranked Concacaf nations (USA and Canada) who have received a bye straight to the W Championship which takes place in July 2022.